Over the weekend we heard another all-too-frequent news report of a child left in a hot car while a parent ran a quick errand.

In the process of searching for that story on the Internet, we found another horrific report.

Police in Dallas, Texas, say a 2-year-old boy was found safe after he was reported missing in Oak Cliff Sunday morning. The boy was taken home by a family who noticed he’d been left alone in a car outside a bar. Dallas police say the boy’s mother left him in her car while she went inside the bar to argue with her ex-husband over child support.

Next we found the story for which we had been hunting.

In Providence, Rhode Island, a mother is facing charges after leaving her one-year-old baby in a hot van. According to police, she left her child in the van for about 30 minutes Friday evening while clothes shopping. A passerby called police. When the child arrived at the hospital, his temperature was 101.6 degrees. (And, we would add, that’s after cooling down while being transported to the hospital.)

What’s more, the mother was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license and operating an unregistered vehicle.

But wait, there’s more.

Authorities in Iowa are trying to decide whether to file charges against a hospital CEO whose 7-month-old daughter died after being left in a minivan while she rushed off to attend meetings. The county medical examiner has ruled the death accidental, but prosecutors have yet to decide whether to charge the mother over the death of her daughter.

Unfortunately, such stories are not new. Every summer as sweltering temperatures pound all regions of the lower 48 states children die — or come darn close to it — after being forgotten by the ones who are supposed to love and care for them the most.

We don’t know if it’s the “it won’t happen to me” syndrome or just carelessness that results in such news reports as these. But in the end it makes no nevermind. Children suffer and die because a mom, dad or a caregiver forgets their most sacred duty — the safety of their child or the child in their care.

No doubt such incidents are heart-wrenching for the adults involved and will haunt them until their own dying days.

But that is secondary to the reminder these stories offer. If you see a child left alone in a car, here in Sanford or anywhere, don’t assume for a moment someone will be right back. Do the right thing and call the police.

And for yourself, don’t assume such tragedies happen to other people. If you have a child in tow, keep him or her in tow. It only takes a few extra minutes to save a life and a lifetime of regrets.